New Career

Topic 7028 | Page 1

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Doug T.'s Comment
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I am 56 yrs old and can hopefully retire from my job as a project manager at an engineering firm in 6 years. Have been considering taking a weekend truck driving training school at a local junior college, obtaining CDL , and working part time (weekends) to build driving resume so that I can have better choice at driving jobs when I retire. A few questions: (1) I have high blood pressure. Is that a problem? (2) Would I be able to get an essentially entry level job at age 62 [or even now for that matter]? (3) Does the above strategy make sense? (4) Should I wait until later to get training?

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
David's Comment
member avatar

I am 56 yrs old and can hopefully retire from my job as a project manager at an engineering firm in 6 years. Have been considering taking a weekend truck driving training school at a local junior college, obtaining CDL , and working part time (weekends) to build driving resume so that I can have better choice at driving jobs when I retire. A few questions: (1) I have high blood pressure. Is that a problem? (2) Would I be able to get an essentially entry level job at age 62 [or even now for that matter]? (3) Does the above strategy make sense? (4) Should I wait until later to get training?

Hey Doug,

I'll try and help you out the best I can.

First, don't let your age be a factor. We have guys/girls that come in from 18-81 asking the same question about age being a factor. Its not.

The biggest issue I think your going to face is when you complete the schooling and still being at your current job for the remainder of the 6yrs. Generally speaking, after 3 months of schooling, most companies will require a refresher course which is $$ out of your pocket again just to learn what the school taught you all over.

Now, if you planning to do the school then get a local part time driving job while still doing the project manager job, that may help a little however getting a local gig is hard for new cdl holders. It can be done but its work. One of our drivers here, 6 String, has a great thread about being local. you can check it out here.

6 years is a pretty long ways to go before getting into the trucking career. No chance of doing it sooner?

Since your looking at doing local schooling, make sure your getting 160+hrs of training and a certificate of completion with the hours on it. It will help when you look for a trucking job as they will ask if you completed school.

Your plan is possible, but it may be a bit of extra work on top. Keep in mind, you'll be working during the week, then head to class on the weekends, then back to work for the week and then back to school on the weekend. Not having the full class days every day will be challenging and remembering everything from the week before will be tough too. Just something to think about.

If you are going to drive after you retire, I'd suggest just waiting out the years, keep your self in the loop with trucking and stay around here, as week have tons of info here. When the time comes just before retirement or even right after, start at a schooling full time, whether at a local Truck Driving School or Company-Sponsored Training and get the full force of training so you remember everything right out of school.

I hope my rambling gives you some insight.

While your here, take a look at everything we have here. Brett's Bookis a great read.Truck Driver's Career Guide is a great way to get into truckingif you need help deciding on local or company school, How To Choose A School andHow To Choose A Company will help you pick that company thats right for you.

David

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

LTL:

Less Than Truckload

Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.

LTL carriers include:

  • FedEx Freight
  • Con-way
  • YRC Freight
  • UPS
  • Old Dominion
  • Estes
  • Yellow-Roadway
  • ABF Freight
  • R+L Carrier

Linehaul:

Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.

LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.

Company-sponsored Training:

A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.

The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.

If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.

Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

Old School's Comment
member avatar

Welcome aboard Doug!

Part time trucking jobs are pretty tough to find, and when they are available the insurance companies pretty much dictate that it has to be someone with experience.

The best way for you to do this would be to just wait it out until you are ready to retire, then go through the school of your choice and jump right into a trucking job immediately following your schooling. That's not just our opinion, that is the way it works out there in the job market. For the most part, no one will touch a guy who got his CDL a few years ago and now wants to start driving. I had one company tell me they couldn't hire me because I had been out of school for about three months before I applied to them.

So, don't waste your money unless you know that you can get a part time job before you take the leap. Even then, after a few years, if you wanted to go over the road , those companies would require you to take a refresher course because none of them consider part time, or local driving as experience.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Over The Road:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

Doug T.'s Comment
member avatar

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I need to hold off on training until I can drive full time. I will continue to keep tabs with the industry as suggested. And thanks for the suggestions for reading/training materials - that helps a lot. Doug T.

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